LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The past three weeks have been a nightmare scenario for many including one woman in Little Rock.
Leandria Gray moved into the Calais Forest Apartments about two months ago— and then on March 31, the tornado hit.
If you add in the fact that she wasn't able to find her dog, Kid, the last month has been anything but easy.
"He's honestly like my friend," she said. "Soon as I walked in the pound and I saw him and he had one ear up and one ear down, I was like, 'Yep, he's mine!'"
She explained that she barely knew what happened on the Friday that the storm hit.
"I took a nap and woke up in a tornado," she added.
She said she rushed to get her things and grabbed what was essential.
Unfortunately, Gray couldn't find Kid.
"I ran back outside and he was gone," she said. "So I'm screaming his name, screaming his name and he wasn't coming."
The apartment complex has been largely shut down as crews have been working on what's left, which has left her on the outside of the fence trying to find her dog.
"I wasn't able to go look around and none of that because the team came and it was very devastating," she said. "I really thought I lost my baby."
Facebook posts got her nowhere, and it was hard to see others reuniting with their pets as she searched for hers.
Though that changed last weekend.
"My heart is complete!" Gray said. "My heart is complete, and he's okay, he's safe."
A demolition team going through Calais Forest found him in the ruins of an apartment. It's unclear how he survived so long on his own, but that crew turned him into the Little Rock Animal Village.
From there, people recognized Kid and told Gray.
After all that time apart, she got to see him in person again at the Animal Village— which was an emotional reunion.
"This moment could have never happened, and I thought it was never gonna happen," she said.
There are few bonds that are as strong as the ones between our pets and us and hopefully, this one won't ever be broken again.
"I thought I lost him forever," Gray said. "But this is my forever baby."